One of the biggest problems that are ever present when it
comes to improving society’s aggressive driving is that most drivers don’t even
seem to know there is a problem. We are all so quick to point fingers at “bad
drivers” not realizing that while doing so, we have three fingers pointing
right back at us. This is why subjective surveys and self-reports are so
problematic; researchers are getting a very rose-tinted version of America’s drivers. Before we can even begin to start thinking of practical applications to
improve the issues of road rage, we must get a more accurate picture of how
serious and prevalent the road rage really is. To be able to do that, we must
get a more accurate picture of how the average driver really is.

The New Approach: Thinking Aloud

There is a new method of studying drivers that hopefully leaves us at least one
step closer in attaining a more objective view of the drivers. This new method
was introduced by Dr. Herbert Simon who was the first and only Psychologist to
have ever won a Nobel Prize (granted it wasn’t for the field of Psychology).
Dr. Simon created the think aloud method on his path to design the chess
playing computer game. He designed the computer program on the foundation of
how actual human players think. He had actual human chess players play the game
of chess while recording their verbalized thoughts all throughout. This gave
Dr. Simon an idea of how the logic and thought process behind the game of chess
worked and allowed him to design a human-like chess playing computer program.
In the same way, we are applying this think aloud method to the study of
driving. Instead of drivers thinking back on their driving incidents when their
perspective or memory can be altered or biased, the participants record themselves
thinking aloud as they actually go through the act of driving. If they feel a
certain way, they record themselves expressing it right then and there. If they
are doing a certain action, they record themselves describing the deed as it is
happening. This is much more effective because it doesn’t let the lapse of time
affect their judgment or viewpoint on their driving skills or habits.

I think that this is truly a far more effective method in attaining a true and
unabashedly honest representation of how Americans truly drive. Often, we alter
our true behaviors and try to present them in ways that are more “socially
acceptable.” For example, if one was to be asked whether one would return
excess miscalculated change, I am willing to bet that the average person would
answer that they would return the extra money. However, whether or not they
really would return the extra money when in that given situation is a different
story. Society has trained us well in presenting the “acceptable” versions of
ourselves where morals override personal gain. Unfortunately, this isn’t always
the case in actuality. In the same way, when surveyed or asked to describe ones
self as a driver out of context (i.e. when they’re not actually driving),
people are likely to embellish themselves as the “good” driver surrounded by
everyone else who are “bad” drivers.
Three Drivers In One

Before getting into the practical applications of understanding how a driver
thinks or functions, it is important to even understand what makes up a driver.
Now this may sound like a trivial and almost foolishly easy to answer, but what
aspects of a person are being utilized when driving? The basic and probably
more common answer would be the body. A few possible specifics are the hands
that are on the steering wheel, or the foot that controls the gas and brakes,
or the eyes that are focused on the road. These are categorized as the
sensorimotor self in Driving Psychology. This involves anything that we
physically or outwardly do with our vehicles in order to handle it. One of the
reasons why this is such an important category is that if for nothing else, the
law system uses it to articulate any wrongdoings in the world of traffic law.
However, this category is not the only one that makes up a driver. There are
three fold selves to a driver with sensorimotor only being one of them.

The next fold is the affective self. This side of the driver
involves any feelings or emotions that are triggered or used while driving.
Though the art of driving may simply seem like a physical action, there are
many emotions involved. For example, I think anyone can empathize with the
flashing lights in their rearview mirror chasing after them. We feel the
anxiety and regret immediately flood our minds. Or when someone cuts us off
rudely without a wave of thanks, we feel anger and bitterness towards that
driver. It could even be the feeling of happiness or relief when one is late to
an appointment and one sees that they lucked out with no traffic. No matter how
stoic or unfeeling one may be, driving has this way of triggering all kinds of
feelings and emotions within us.

The last fold is the cognitive self. This involves all of
the thoughts and reasoning that we mentally go through while driving. For many
of us, driving has become such a routine act that we feel as if we can do it
with our eyes closed (obviously not literally). We can multi task; there is
always the woman late to work, putting her make up on while driving, or the man
trying to squeeze in a quick bite before his appointment. As simple as driving
may seem to the “experienced” driver, there are many complex thoughts that we
are engaged in. For example, trying to figure out the quickest route to work to
avoid as much traffic areas as possible is one thought process. Another one
could be thinking of how the driver that you just cut off feels towards you and
trying to maintain a safe enough distance where they can’t cuss or rudely
gesture at you. For some of us, image management is important and thus keeps us
from cutting other people off in fear of what they would think of us. Another
incorporates self-evaluation when one comes to the realization that one is way
above the speed limit and needs to slow down to prevent a ticket. These are simply
a few of many examples of the thought processes that are going on as we drive.

Self-Witnessing For Change

Now this is where we put it all together with a simple concept called
self-witnessing. This is simply the act of monitoring ones self as a driver and
conveying or expressing their self-image as a driver. We tie this method with
the think-aloud method discussed earlier to bring a practical solution in first
of all, revealing to the driver their weak areas (whether it be in their
affective self, cognitive self, or sensorimotor self), and then allowing them
to conscientiously and purposefully make improvements in those areas.

Drivers engaging in the self-witnessing through the thinking aloud method would
basically record themselves as they basically gave a play by play of everything
going on in all three of their driving selves while driving. Later, transcripts
were made of these recordings so that researchers could better study and
analyze what we as drivers go through mentally, emotionally, and physically. It
is believed that these two methods combined can help modify the driver’s
selves. For example, when one is feeling anger towards a driver who seemingly
has cut one off, one could alleviate their affective self by thinking aloud
utilizing their cognitive self: “That driver probably didn’t mean to be rude,
but simply is in a hurry to get somewhere. It wasn’t a personal attack against
me.” This reasoning can in turn help control our sensorimotor self by keeping
the middle finger and aggressive verbal attacks at bay. The thinking-aloud
could even help the driver give his/herself a pep talk in preventing those
actions: “I don’t want to act immaturely. I will not let that driver get the
best of me. They’re not even worth shouting or gesturing at.”

A Turn For the Better?

Like discussed before, it is absolutely imperative for the average driver to
even recognize that despite their positive views on themselves as a driver,
they are just as part of the driving and road rage problem as the jerk who cut
them off in rush hour yesterday. We are very much prone to describing ourselves
subjectively and not objectively. This is one of the biggest reasons for the
lack of improvement in the driving world. Before anyone can even begin their
attempts in improving the overly aggressive driving, it is essential that they
recognize their own aggression. The unknown aggression from our own selves
could be what is triggering the aggression from others! One of the reasons for
why the self-witnessing through the thinking aloud method has so much potential
for changing drivers is its efficiency. This method can be used to not only
identify the problem, study and analyze the problem, but even to solve the
problem. Simply by verbalizing their thoughts and motives behind their actions,
drivers can recognize their weaknesses and right then and there change their
automated responses (the middle finger, tailgating, etc.) to a more controlled
one. There is much reason to hope that through this method, the driver can
utilize all three folds of their self to change the world of road rage one
driver at a time.

Dr. Herbert Simon’s Well Lived Life

This article is actually an obituary that commemorates the
reputable life of Dr. Herbert Simon who is accredited as the Father of
Artificial Intelligence. The article gives a brief summary of his life
including his lifelong achievements. He was truly an intelligent and admirable
man with different passions ranging from psychology to computer programming to
even music.

Section 2: Team Presentation on Readings

Road Rage Chapter 1 page 21-45

Driving in the age
of rage

During the 1990’s the term road rage was introduced to the
it is referred to as an aggressive behavior.

Examples that encourage road rage:

Traffic

Time pressure

Fatigue

While factors such as impaired driving, risk taking and
frustration play a part in this. In Philadelphia, one person every hour
is injured in an automobile accident beating out carelessness as the number one
source of danger. Studies also show that aggressive drivers kill more
people than drunk drivers and feel proud in their domination of others on the
road. With so many deaths and accidents, why are there still so many
aggressive drivers??

As a problem worldwide, forecasters show that the decline in
aggressive driving is not positive and continues to flourish. This type
of driving can be traced to cultural ideology, which influences the level of
tolerance by supporting these behaviors.

I believe that if our culture continues to tolerate and
accept these types of behaviors, motorists will continue to drive the way they
do thinking that is ok because others do it.

Two symptoms that define road rage:

the feeling of rage accompanied by mental violence

desire to punish and retaliate

It would be very useful if as drivers, we could change our
perceptions of others’ driving

Example: Positive-driver entering lane
Negative-driver cutting me off

If the aggressive driver changes, they will alter their
thoughts and actions.

Other examples of rage in public places:

Surf rage

Sidewalk rage

These are examples of behavior that can be modified and
worked on. Here in Hawaii with so many people driving and so many cars
there are so little parking stalls. I have seen many incidents of people
fighting over parking, yelling and sticking the finger at each other for that
one stall. Are these types of rage due to cultural influences? The
presenting group discussed sidewalk rage in particular. They used this
example to state a cultural difference between people here and people in Texas. They also stated that this is a rage that can be modified and
controlled.

If people learn to develop the three-step program of driving
improvement, then they can become aware of their emotions and actions behind
the wheel this becoming better drivers. The group discussed that it is
important to be aware of and stay in control of your behaviors and actions
behind the wheel. I think that if people did this then there would be a
lot less accidents and rage on the road, but getting people to learn these
steps and wanting to change is the hard part.

The group stated that these actions we do so frequently,
people do not tend to see them as a problem. This is very true; we fall
into habits that may be hard to break.

While men report being more aggressive drivers than women
do, studies show that women are starting to drive more aggressively partially
due to more women in the workforce today. 70% of people report to being
victims of aggressive driving, while only 30% report being the aggressive
driver.

The group discussed that internal forces play a role in this
aggressive driving, ex. Media. With the violence on TV, movies and video games,
where people spend so much of their time on it’s no wonder there are people out
there driving like they are on a racing game.

The next area the group discussed was the risk homeostasis
phenomenon, which is for example, if the road is made straighter or smoother,
the driver will compensate by driving faster. While this is meant to make
the roads safer, the rates of accidents remain high.

Also, with the increase of law enforcement the number of
accidents still remains steady. Other preventative such as harsher
penalties and anger management workshops do not seem to be making an
improvement. In 2007 Hawaii passed a law which punishes speeding and
reckless driving with harsher fines and possible jail time, but the speeding
here still seems to be a problem.

Basic Principles of Driving Psychology:

Driving is a complex behavior

The norms exist in three domains: affective, cognitive and
sensorimotor

Affective: norms include territoriality (negative and
anti-social)

Cognitive: norms include poor emotional intelligence
(inaccurate)

Sensorimotor: norms that include automatic habits
(immature)

The norms are passed down from parents, other adults and
media

These three interact to reach judgments and actual body
movements made by driver.

The last main issue of this section was the three step self
modification plan:

The first article discusses “Drivers Behaving Badly on TV, Movies, Cartoons,
Music Videos, Car Commercials : DBB ratings from the Generational
Curriculum.” (1997). The first point the group discusses is that TV has
a major influence on the way we drive, and children are susceptible and
easily influence by these scenes. The article discusses that it is important
to make children understand that the scenes they see on the television are
not real. An example of drivers behaving badly:

Source: Clueless (Movie and TV series)
She was thinking about her relationship and not paying attention to the road
While changing lanes she almost hit’s a man on a bike
She swerves to the right and hit several other cars and keeps on driving.
Evaluation: She was a very rich person, with a surreal life. But these
images can create the impression that driving is not a serious subject.
The father, let his daughter drive without her permit sets a poor
standard.

The 2 examples the group used:
Fried Green Tomatoes (Movie), Kathy was waiting patiently for her parking
stall when a couple of young girls pulled into the stall, got out of the car
and laughed at her, Kathy then decided to ram their car and laughed at
them. Again, this shows children that driving is not a serious matter
and if someone steals your stall, its ok to ram their vehicle.

101 Dalmatians (Movie), Cruella Deville is chasing a big truck filled with
the Dalmatians traveling on a hill side. She was driving her limousine
and trying to run the truck off the cliff by swiping, tailgating and ramming
the truck. This might leave the impression on children that when you
are mad it is ok to try and run their car off the hill, or that tailgating is
alright to do.

Children are being exposed to many examples of bad driving in the media,
these messages can influence the drivers they become later.

Section 3: Team Presentation on Exercises

The main ideas that was presented by the team were:

The Threefold Facts which is “a unified theory that tries to
deal with external and internal aspects of the self. For instance, the
concept of personality is defined in terms of built-up repertories of basic
habits” (Dr. Leon Lecture
Notes) (from Malia, Sheena and Kyung):

Affective = hostile feelings that is based on character

Cognitive = biased thoughts based on thoughts and
understanding

Sensorimotor = aggressive actions based on performance and
effectiveness

Another idea that was presented is the skills that go with
The Threefold (from Malia, Sheena and Kyung), these are examples of The
Threefold:

Affective

Cognitive

Sensorimotor

“I’ve got to be careful here. Don’t want to cut anybody
off”

“This person looking like he’s in a hurry to get in.
I better let him in”

(Gesticulating and Smiling)

Go ahead

You go first

Wish I could give that guy a piece of my mind

ERRORS

I don’t think people like that should be allowed on the
road

(Yelling) You stupid, why don’t you watch where you’re going

The next idea the team talked about is the statistics that
affect aggressive driving, what is road rage, what causes road rage, etc.
One of the statistics that the team mentioned was the leading causes of death,
which are:

Failure to keep in lane

Speeding

Failure to yield the right of way

Failure to obey traffic signs and signals

Hit and Run

The next statistics the team talked about is the drop in the
number of deaths in 2006. They asked the class why what do you think is causing
this decline in deaths? The team stated there are safer roads and the
understanding on how to be a better driver. Another statistics they
talked about is “How do Americans define aggressive driving?” Here is the
list of the top five:

Tailgating (88%)

Rude Gestures (86%)

Passing on the shoulder (83%)

Failing to yield to merging traffic (83%)

Pulling into a parking space someone else is waiting for
(80%)

The team presentation ended with asking the class a few
multiple choices, true/false questions that consisted of mostly of three
possible answers. One of the questions asked was a True/False question
“There are 150 per a day that die from aggressive in France?” The answer
is no because it is 150 per a day in the United States not France. The
classes response to most of their questions was that no one answered as it is
with most of the classes, everyone sits there.

The way that the team presented was breaking down the
different parts of the statistics and information provided on Dr. James’s
DrDriving.org website and presented the parts that they felt was important for
the class to know.

They interpreted the data as it was presented on the
DrDriving website which was a good thing because it presented the class with
facts about driving and the statistics that are associated with aggressive
driving and driving in general.

Some of the areas that could have been improved on were to
better explain the theories and concepts that Dr. James presented on the
website. For example, the Threefold, which was explained but not to a
great detail but having the information written on the board showing the three
different parts of the Threefold plus the chart is good. Having to see
the information then just hearing it makes it just easier to understand and
interpret.

The successes of the approach they used was presenting the
data and facts found on the website and interpreting that data using
psychological factors and how it relates to the topics being discussed.
The making of multiple choice questions is good because it gets the class
involved and gives the team the opportunity to also reflect on what they did
and understand the material. Having your friends also try to answer the
multiple choice questions gives you can idea on what they know about driving
and how alarming the statistics are when it comes to Road Rage, aggressive
driving, etc.

The things that needs improvements in the instructions and
procedures for this particular exercise is: none

The limitations of these types of exercises are that having
to go to a site to look and read information can be hard. For some people
reading off a computer screen is hard to do and not good for your eyes
especially if it something long as the site provided for this exercise.
Having print outs or having to read from the textbooks are a better
choice. These limitations can be done but it makes it harder to do the
exercise if we aren’t comfortable with the materials needed to complete the
exercise.

Going to the website and reading the information was hard
but not impossible but ended up printing mostly everything out after which it
came much easier to read. Also you can read it in your free time thus if
it was on the site only you will need access to a computer and internet.

This site talks about three studies done on aggressive driving:
Aggressive Driving, Road Rage and Driver Aggression. It applies to the
topics discussed because it also gives statistics about aggressive driving
which can go hand-in-hand with the statistics that the team reported for their
exercises. It gives a lot of information that explains “What are the
causes of road rage?”, “How to avoid succumbing to road rage” are some of the
few topics discussed.

Since this is our first report this site is a good one that
gives a lot of information of the psychology of driving. It talks about
Road Rage, how to drive safe, tells stories of driving are just some of the
informative information found that describes the psychology of driving.

This article talks about how studies have been done (past 30
years) that concludes that violence on TV does cause violence in
children. This relates to article one that was reported during the
presentation. This may not be a totally proven fact but at least in this
article it states that it can cause violence in children.

This article is actually an obituary that commemorates the
reputable life of Dr. Herbert Simon who is accredited as the Father of
Artificial Intelligence. The article gives a brief summary of his life
including his lifelong achievements. He was truly an intelligent and admirable
man with different passions ranging from psychology to computer programming to
even music.

This article presents the notion of emotions and its power
over us as drivers. Whether it’s stress and fatigue or anxiety and road rage,
we as good drivers, need to keep them in check. The article also lists a few
helpful and specific tips on how to not let our emotions get the best of us.

http://www.apa.org/monitor/apr04/cognitive.html

The Connection Between Cognition and Driving

This is a very short article presenting some interesting
findings that the cognitive level of functioning in a person is what separates
the “safe” drivers from the “unsafe” drivers. Though it is studying the
extreme end of cognitive functionality such as healthy individuals versus
individuals with Alzheimer’s Disease.

This site talks about a woman driver that killed a man on a
bike while she was in a state of rage. People that have left notes on
this page also talk about society and its difficulties with changing
people.

Miami makes the headlines for the worst road rage in the United States, two years in a row. The most frequent cause of this rage is said to be
impatient drivers and sometimes poor driving. This site shows updated
photos and videos and well as comments. Psychologists suggest that the
answer lies in compassion.

This site discusses that road rage is a disorder, or a
latest spontaneously “discovered” disease. This disease is sometimes
called the Intermittent Explosive Disorder or IED, and pharmacy companies are
looking to find cures for this by creating high-profit prescription
drugs. The article also talks about the psychiatric community becoming
the disease intervention for the pharmaceutical industry.

This site, Understanding Road Rage discusses the beginnings
of the rage and its appearances in articles. Author Read Mercer
Schuchardt believes that there is no such thing and has called himself the
science myth debunker. The author goes down later in the article to say
that road rage is real.